Exclusive: Ed-tech startup MySuperBrain raises angel funding

MySuperBrain, an online talent discovery platform for students operated by Hyderabad-based Bojja IT Solutions Pvt Ltd, has secured an undisclosed amount in angel funding from tech consultancy firm Soniks Consulting.

MySuperBrain plans to use the funds for marketing initiatives and augmenting the technology vertical, co-founder and CEO Raghavendar Reddy Bojja told Techcircle.

Soniks Consulting is a database and enterprise resource planning (ERP) consultancy firm that provides delivery solutions to accelerate the speed and lower the cost of technology projects.

MySuperBrain was founded in 2011 by IIM-Kozhikode alumni Bojja and Yuvaraju Atmakuri. It offers a platform for students to showcase their talent in academics and other activities such as music, dance and painting.

The startup offers students targeted content and interactive learning platforms in the form of games and videos. There is a social networking element, too, where visitors can give feedback on students' activities. It also offers an activity-based monthly magazine called 'Exalt' to encourage students.

"For too long, a student's IQ (intelligence quotient) has been linked to his/her math and verbal skills, which is a skewed and narrow parameter to judge," said Bojja. He added that a range of viable career options are coming up in India, beyond the traditional vocations of engineering and medicine.

The startup generates revenue through subscriptions of the Exalt magazine, which works in both the school and retail models. Around 450 schools in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have subscribed to the magazine through the school model. In the retail model, students can subscribe to it individually. The company plans to expand to the top 10 metros in the country. However, Bojja did not reveal a timeline for this expansion.

The company has devised online advertisements, premium services for students and conducting sponsored competitive events for students on behalf of and in collaboration with brands as other sources of revenue. Bojja said the online ad model is seeing some initial traction and the startup has also started making money by organising events. MySuperBrain takes half the sponsorship money collected as its cut.

The startup claims it has around 2.5 lakh registered users and says it hopes to take this to 10 lakh by the end of this year. The company has 10 employees and plans to double the headcount by adding more to the tech, marketing and content writing verticals by the end of the year.

MySuperBrain joins a number of ed-tech startups that have raised funding recently. Last week, Uolo Technology Pvt Ltd, which runs an app that allows schools and parents to communicate with each other, raised $210,000 (around Rs 1.4 crore) in seed funding from Purvi Ventures and others.

Last month, Bangalore-based ed-tech startup Fundamentor raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a seed round from entrepreneur and former venture capitalist Subramanya SV.

Ed-tech venture Byju's has secured the biggest investment in this segment, having secured $75 million (about Rs 500 crore) from Sequoia India and Belgian investment firm Sofina earlier this year.